Chilaquile Casserole

Alexis officially gets credit for exposing me to chilaquiles from her post here on RFL, but the first time I actually ate them was at Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe in Emeryville (across from PIXAR). They are delicious and I crave them all the time. So I was pretty ecstatic when I found a recipe for a casserole version in one of Mollie Katzen's books - Still Life With Menu. It's super simple and easy to improvise on. Don't be afraid of the casserole, either. I've nostalgically come to love them in the last year, even though I hated them as a kid. So throw on an apron and whip this tasty dinner/breakfast/lunch/midnight snack up!

What's in it

12 corn tortillas

2 4oz cans chopped green chiles

3 C grated jack cheese

salt and pepper

4 eggs

2 C buttermilk

Optional additions

1-2 C pinto beans

1-2 C corn

1/2 lb firm tofu, cut in thin slices

1 C chopped and sauted onion

1 small zucchini cubed and sauted

How it's made

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and butter a 9x13-inch pan.

Tear 6 tortillas into bite sized pieces and layer on the bottom of the pan. Distribute half the chiles and half the cheese on top (and any additional ingredients).

Tear the rest of the tortillas and sprinkle on top, then follow with the remaining cheese and chiles, etc.

Beat the eggs and buttermilk with the salt and pepper and pour on top of the casserole.

Bake for 35 minutes uncovered. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Chilaquiles

I remember very clearly the first time I had chilaquiles, a staple in Mexico not frequently found at Mexican restaurants in the U.S. I was 18 and living in Mexico City on my first stint studying abroad. A group of other students and I had reservations at the Hotel Majestic for brunch, purely for the direct view of the Zocalo--historic Mexico City's expansive main square. We were able to watch Ruben Blades perform (part of a series of free summer concerts) from above the fray of thousands--while enjoying breakfast. The music was good, but the chilaquiles ended up stealing the show.

Chilaquiles come in many forms: red sauce or green sauce, with eggs without eggs, with chicken or other meat or vegetarian. But my favorite remains the way I originally experienced them: with green sauce, chicken and no eggs. Traveling throughout Mexico, I'd always order them when I found the right combo. The other versions are not bad by any means, but with the green sauce they're transcendent.

Awhile ago, Mark and I made a version of chilaquiles with shrimp roughly adapted from my Dona Tomas cookbook. We used homemade totopos, tortilla chips, from the same. It may have been the best version I've ever had--and that's saying something. (NOTE: There are delicious chilaquiles offered at La Bamba on SE 49th and Division in Portland.)

For the chilaquiles:

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 cups (or so) chile verde enchilada sauce
  
• 10 ounces corn tortilla chips
• 1 1/2 cups grated cheese (Monterey Jack is recommended, but we used cheddar)
• 1/4 thinly sliced white onions
• 1/3 cup crumbed Cotija cheese (worth getting for authenticity's sake)
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup crema or sour cream

1. Add the oil to a skillet over high heat.
   
2. Add about 2 cups of green sauce. Bring to a boil, then add tortilla chips. Saute the chips in the sauce for about 3 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon until the chips absorb the sauce.
   
3. Continue to add sauce until all the chips are well coated but not soupy. You may not need all of the sauce.
   
4. Add the grated cheese and stir once or twice util barely melted. Transfer to a serving plate or individual plates.
   
5. Sprinkle with onion, Cotija and cilantro. Drizzle with crema. Top with shrimp or chicken. Die of happiness.

For the shrimp:

• 1/2 white onion, sliced
  
• 1 pound frozen shrimp
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons unslated butter
• 1 jalapeno chile, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• Lime

1. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add the oil and onion--quickly stir 2-3 times. Add the shrimp and a few dashes of salt. Saute for a minute.
   
2. Add the butter, jalapeno and garlic. Saute for a minute, until butter melts and the garlic releases it's aroma and shrimp are done.
3. Serve on top of your chilaquiles.
   

Totopos: Tortilla Chips

This is one of those things that is really simple and mind-blowingly delicious, but that most people don't (or at least I didn't) think to do. About a year ago, I bought a lovely cookbook from a hip and tasty Mexican restaurant called Tacubaya on Berkeley's famous 4th Street. Part of why I compulsively bought the book were the enticing photos and sleek design, but Tacubaya's food also happens to be fantastic and authentically Mexican (not so many Mexican restaurants actually are).

One of my favorite Mexican dishes, chilaquiles, has a base of fried corn tortilla chips or totopos. I couldn't wait to make chilaquiles of my very own (I hope you've had the opportunity to try them and know why), so the totopos were the first recipe I attempted. Now, I have to tell you that I am afraid of frying anything. My family never fried foods when I was growing up and I had never personally attempted to fry anything, ever.

I found that this was actually nothing to fear. And while it's cheap and easy to buy corn tortilla chips at the store, this only takes a few minutes and is more worth it than I could have ever imagined.

Totopos

~Print Recipe~

• 3 cups canola oil
• 24 fresh corn tortillas
• Kosher salt

1. Put the canola oil in a large frying pan and turn the heat up to high.
2. In the 5-10 minutes it will take the oil to heat up to 350 degrees (I don't have a thermometer, but when it's hot, it's hot), cut your tortillas into sixths to make chip-size triangles.
3. When the oil is ready, turn the heat down to medium-high. Put half of your cut tortillas in the pan, submerging them with a slotted spoon if they float up to the top. They will turn crispy and brown in about 3-4 minutes. (Try not to let them get too dark.)
   
4. Use the slotted spoon or a spatula to fish out the chips, letting as much oil as possible drain back into the pan. (You'll want to do this pretty quickly, since they'll get extra crispy if you leave them in too long.) Set the chips on a few layers of paper towels to soak up the extra oil.
5. While they're still hot, sprinkle them with salt and have a few!
6. Repeat with the other half of the tortillas.

These would be a fantastic appetizer as is or served with salsa and guacamole. The best chilaquiles I've ever had were made with these chips, and I've made a delicious plate of nachos with them as well.